For the nth time, I wish I could put into words the thoughts burning in my mind. I feel that more than ever, I have expressed myself badly. I do not know how you could take interest in reading all these muddled thoughts.

My own photo album on Nissa’s wedding finally arrived today after a long, long wait of almost a year. It’s a mini version of their own wedding album and it took them a while to choose which to include in it because it was just limited to about 150 pictures among the more than 2,000 shots done by their official photographer. Anyway, I still have to watch the DVD on the wedding itself and probably choose more pics and have them printed too. We have all the pictures in CDs. How lovely and it’s nice to recall an event that somehow made my only daughter so happy. We’re waiting with bated breath for baby Nate….about five weeks more to go!

I had fun sorting the baby layette – booties, diapers, baby clothes, pajamas, receiving blankets, bonnets. I was excited, who wouldn’t? So I started washing some of them using a baby liquid detergent. Love that feeling of nostalgia – remembering those days when my two kids were still babies. It really feels good to have another baby in the family, this time, a wonderful baby boy who would give us joy and happiness. If Obet and Nissa are excited, I am more excited than they are. It’s Nissa’s 30th birthday in a week and with that little bundle of joy coming soon, what a beautiful birthday gift. It seems like only yesterday when I blogged about the joys of being a mom and my own power moments. And it seems only yesterday when it finally dawned on me that my daughter is getting married. How time flies and I remember blogging about their lovely November wedding last year. And now, she has her own family to speak of. Am I getting old? But they say that age is just a number, and when you add numbers to your age, you grow a little wiser. But still, I am excited. The baby that I used to cradle in my arms is now a mother in her own right.

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.” – Alfred Tennyson

I can’t believe it’s almost a year now since my daughter’s wedding which we called Purple Day . Time flies certainly and in two months we’ll have our own bundle of joy! Nissa just texted and said she’s playing classical music to Nate and when she does, the baby turns a lot in her womb and seems to say, “I like the music Mommy”. The wonderful world of the unborn, he probably knows that we are all waiting to see him and we are praying for his safety too.

Nissa shared and showed us the pictures they have chosen for their wedding album. And I simply love this shot, the two of them in front of their wedding reception at Ibarra’s Garden.

I’ve just changed my blog theme here at WordPress after using the former one for so long, but I keep coming back to it so probably in a month or two, I’ll go back to the old one. Anyway, I am sharing some photos of my daughter’s wedding. it’s taking them so long to choose what to go in their official wedding album. I love these though which my daughter made herself.

This year may not be as hectic as the previous year for me but there were big events that made it a good year – our year. There were no road trips to speak of either. January started with a bang, with the quadricentennial celebration of my alma mater, University of Santo Tomas, visiting Lovell at the seminary and seeing old friends, colleagues from the UST Main Library where I used to work during my college days.

Sometimes, a trip to UST would not be complete without dropping by Sto. Domingo Convent to have a little sharing with Lovell. It’s something to look forward to when his schedule permits.

College life made a difference because of friends who have become close over the years and I have adopted them as my older sisters.

Sr. Thea, FMM is a Franciscan nun based in Mindoro and Grace is now a permanent resident in Canada. We make it a point to see each other every year if time permits. Growing up with them, sharing heartaches during our college days made us soul sisters.

At Sweet Inspiration, our favorite hangout every time we see each other. Except for Grace (in yellow striped t-shirt), the three of us, Sr. Thea, Precy and I are cancer survivors. Precy says, even in friendship, we battled the same ailment.

January 29 found me attending another high school reunion (our fourth one, actually). This time though, it was just a casual affair at the house of one of our batchmates in Quezon City.

Two of our classmates came home last February so we had another get-together at Shakey’s Espana then paid a visit to UST for some photo-op. It was fun reminiscing the good old days. It brings back memories.

Every time I visit this place, I could not leave it without taking a shot or two of the UST Main Bldg. This was where some of the programs were held the previous month, hence the stage in front of it.

At Shakey’s Espana, having fun with lots of pizza, pasta and fried chicken. I had this crazy idea of taking shots of our arms wearing the bracelets which one of our classmates made for us and it came out good.

April was a busy month. For several years now, we’ve visited several churches at our annual Visita Iglesia, this time though we confined ourselves to seven churches in San Juan city and Quezon City. We also met Fr. Louie Coronel, OP , my co-admin at Apostles Filipino Catholic Community and he toured us at Bahay Dominiko at Sto. Domingo Convent in Quezon City. Earlier on, we also discovered a bird’s nest in our garden, for a while there we thought we could watch the hatchlings grow into little yellow-vented Bulbul but they died after a few days. I also met an online friend from Cebu. It was another lovely meeting with her grand kids in tow.

Hubby, Nissa and I visited Pan de Amerikana last July since Nissa was eyeing it for their pre-nuptial shoot. It was a trip down memory lane with all those old-old frames and paraphernalia that adorns the place. Nissa was so happy to receive their Papal Blessing from Rome. And for the first time, Fr. Louie and I were able to plan our first AFCC gathering at Bahay Dominiko in Sto. Domingo Church. Meeting some of the members of our Catholic community was such a joy and a blessing. It was definitely a day worth-remembering. And we couldn’t get enough so we planned another one last August 27 at the same place. There were new members from as far as Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan who attended.

I can’t forget my birthday last October since Nissa’s gift, The Best Of Me, a book by Nicholas Sparks paved the way for me to meet Nicholas in person at the momentous book signing at The Podium. That was the first time I ever attended a book signing and just like the rest of the crowd, I shouted and laughed with them. Got a big smile on my face when I saw him face to face. The highlight of the year of course was my daughter’s wedding last November 13 at the Paco Park Chapel followed by a lovely reception at Ibarra’s Garden in Malate, Manila. We called it Purple Day. Except for the two solo pictures of Nissa that I included here, these are not the official photos of the wedding, they were just culled from friends’ tags at Facebook. They still have to choose the photos which will be included in their wedding album.

The year was capped by Lovell’s Diaconate Ordination last November 30 at Sto. Domingo Church. Looking back, it was definitely a year full of blessings – meeting friends, sharing with the family, having another son in the family, having my adopted son ordained as a deacon, what more can one ask?

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. – Luther Burbank

I just can’t help taking shot of this when Nissa brought it home a day after her wedding. It’s her bridal bouquet. They are blooms of French Lilac Tulip and light Pink Equadorian Roses adorned with crystals and gysophila fillers and polypodium foliage wrapped with white lace ribbon accent.

I should have taken shots of my bouquet too but I forgot. It’s a single bloom of Casablanca lily with purple carnations, agaphantus and purple static fillers with a cord lace of purple. It’s been a month now since the big day and I still miss her. I seldom see her now but we communicate everyday via texts and phone calls.

I always love taking shots of sunrise and sunsets and when I am lucky enough, I also love taking shots of the dawn. This is really the first time that I caught this perfectly quiet scene of Manila Bay at dusk. This was taken from an eight-floor window of our hotel room the day before my daughter’s wedding. I particularly remember taking this shot on a zoom lens ( the bay is quite far from Pearl Garden Hotel) and thinking, “this time tomorrow, my daughter would be married and will assume a new name”.

Seeing those tiny sailing ships from afar, I wondered, “are they just passing through and going to another destination?” Life is like that sometimes, you can’t really change the direction of the wind but you can adjust your sails to determine which way to go. William Arthur Ward couldn’t have put it better when he said, ” The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjust the sails.”

The frenzy of the last two weeks is finally over. Of course, there are still so many things to do but at least we could relax now without worrying about undelivered invites, seating arrangement at the wedding venue and such small details that would make Nissa’s big day a success. Apart from a few texts and a phone call, I haven’t heard from the newly wed for the last two days. They went to Cebu and are now in Bohol, a place she’s raving about. We always say that a woman is loveliest on her wedding day and she is happiest on her honeymoon. I am happy for both of them.

I can’t wait to see the wedding pictures but it will probably take a little longer for the official photographers to deliver them. We are just copying some tagged posts by friends who attended the wedding. A lot of my friends who now have their own grand kids are telling me that it’s a great feeling to have your own “apos” to pamper and to play with. Of course, hubby and I are looking forward to that but we can wait until they are ready to have kids. It takes lots of adjustments and learning when you are a newly married couple. But learning together and loving it is always a part of the thrill of adjusting to married life. Along the way, one learns more of each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies, and the lovable traits that you have admired before but are magnified because you will always try to show how much you love and value each other. It’s the guy who loves to spend the night with you admiring the beauty of the moon and counting the stars instead of watching the late night news who is I think more romantic and worthy of spending precious time with. And it’s the beauty of staying in love and growing old together that is worth admirable in a couple. Not all of us experience the kind of “kilig” moments that they describe in romance books but we can build our own as each day passes and as the years go by. The beautiful memories linger long after your kids have families of their own.

We must admit of course that in some cases, when problems set in, love comes flying out of the window. The verbal attacks are more frequent than the hugs and smiles. Nothing is perfect, we all know that and the success of one’s married life really depends on so many factors that sometimes we overlook because we are of the thought that we are secure in each other’s love. We should not be complacent and should always make an effort to let our spouses feel that they are important to us. Love may diminish over the years and we ask ourselves, “where has the love gone?”

I’ve told Nissa and Obet to put God in the center of their married life. The journey may not be as smooth as one expects but the uphill climb becomes a joy when you scale the mountains together.

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